Crested moa

Crested moa; Temporal range: Late Holocene
	Pachyornis australis bones in Ngarua Caves
Conservation status
	Extinct
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Infraclass:	Palaeognathae
Order:	†Dinornithiformes
Family:	†Emeidae
Genus:	†Pachyornis
Species:	†P. australis
Binomial name
	†Pachyornis australis; (Oliver, 1949)
Synonyms
	List Pachyornis elephantopus Cracraft 1976 non (Owen 1856) Lydekker 1891 ; Mesopteryx sp. β Parker 1895 ;

The crested moa (Pachyornis australis) is an extinct species of moa. It is one of the 9 known species of moa to have existed.^[3]

Moa are grouped together with

Anomalopteryx, and other Pachyornis species.^[6]

Description

The crested moa weighed around 75 kg (165 lb).^[

Pachyornis elephantopus) and their bones are sometimes mistaken for those of P. elephantopus due to their similar structure.^[7]^[8]

Almost nothing is known about the feather pits on the crested moa's skull. It is likely the feathers were used in courtship rituals or to challenge rivals, but no feathers have been found so their color or size can only be speculated at.[3]

Distribution and habitat

The crested moa was

subalpine zone. While their remains have occasionally been found together, the heavy-footed moa generally preferred warmer and drier lowland areas.^[7]^[8]^[9] However, it is likely the crested moa would have migrated from the high country to these more hospitable areas in winter.^[3]

Ecology and diet

As with all

bats).^[8]^[10] The robust beak with a pointed tip, sturdy jaws, together with large numbers of gizzard stones suggests the diet of Pachyornis was high in fibrous plant material such as branches of trees and shrubs.^[5] The only real threat of predation came from the Haast's eagle (Hieraaetus moorei).^[10]

Extinction

Until recently it was thought that the crested moa became extinct at the Pleistocene-Holocene transition roughly 10,000 years ago (10,000 years BP) during a period of significant climatic upheaval.^[8]^[11] In 2012 however radiocarbon dating of crested moa remains from Bulmer Cavern showed that the specimen died between 1396 and 1442 AD, over 100 years after humans first settled on the Island.^[7]^[8] During the climatic changes before the settlers arrived, the crested moa followed the changes in elevation of their sub-alpine habitats with little change in their population size. Despite their relatively low numbers and limited habitat range, their extinction came later than all of the other moa species. Given that there is no evidence that crested moa were ever hunted by humans^[5] (unlike every other species of moa), it seems likely that their populations were too isolated and remote to have been accessed by humans.^[3]^[7]^[8] Instead, it is probable that the crested moa were wiped out by introduced mammals.^[3]